American Idol: Those Who Matter Don't Mind
Ellen

It’s down to seven hopefuls this week on Idol and the pressure is on. The theme was music from the movies under the watchful eye of Quentin Tarantino (creepy?) – “the renegade storyteller who changed movies forever.”  Surprisingly, there was no obvious choice this week for who should go home. Of course some contestants did better than others, but no one person stood out as the best or even the worst of the night. It didn’t help that each contestant only got to hear from two judges since last week, Simon, Randy, Paula and Kara carried on so long that the show went almost ten minutes over it’s allotted time. Only two judges were allowed to comment after performances, alternating between Randy and Kara and Paula and Simon. I’d rather be judged by Randy and Kara since I can never quite understand what the hell Paula Abdul is trying to say.  Anyone else?

First up was Allison Iraheta singing Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.” Simon said she was the girl’s only hope left in the competition (that’s gotta hurt if you’re Lil Rounds) and that we’ll be seeing her through to the end, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of her performance this week. Sometimes it seemed like she had a hard time pronouncing the words in the song, and that red hair has got to go. But Paula loved it, saying she’s got that “special sauce.” Now what the hell does that mean? Do you see what I’m saying?

Anoop was next with “Everything I do, I do for you” by Bryan Adams. Tarantino wanted Kumar, I mean Anoop, to “rough it up a bit” but he kept it soft and sweet for the ladies. Randy liked the “emotion jumpin off in it” and I think America will agree. Anoop was one of the best of the night.  Check him out:

Adam Lambert, make-up and all, sang “Born to be Wild.” He had crazy energy running all over the stage and hitting those high notes we all know and love (or hate) by now, but Simon said a lot of people would probably despise his take on the song because he changed up the classic tune so much. I was one who hated it. I don’t care if he “dares to dance in the path of greatness” like Paula claims (by the way – where’s the leash Paula? Did you get your dress at Centinela Pet and Feed?) – I was not a fan.

Matt Giraud sang “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” by Bryan Adams, and even though the judges didn’t love it, I definitely did!  He’s so sweet behind that piano! Randy called it pitchy and said he tried to do too much with the simple melody. Kara didn’t much care for his rendition either. I’ll be so sad if he goes home! Let’s hope some other people feel the same and vote for him!

Danny Gokey got rid of the glasses and showed off his handsome mug (good choice) while singing “Endless Love” by Lionel Ritchie. He had the harp playing on stage and definitely put a lot of emotion into the song, but Simon wasn’t a big fan because he sang the traditional version of the song. From where I sat, he did alright.

Kris Allen sang “Falling Slowly” as I slowly fell asleep. Ok that was mean – I didn’t really fall asleep.  But Kris is one of my least favorites in the competition.  The judges were split on him this week. Randy didn’t like it at all while Kara said it was one of his best moments. I’d say he’s a shoe in for the bottom three, but the ladies love that cute face of his, so we’ll see if he makes it through to next week.

Last but not least was Lil Rounds. She sang “The Rose” by Bette Midler, and failed, yet again, to impress the judges (Simon in particular). Bless her heart, she tried to put her rnb/soul/gospel spin on it, but it fell flat for the judges. She defended herself to Simon, saying she tried to show her artistry with the soulful thing. Paula, being the sweet judge she is, was proud of Lil for standing up for herself. “Those who matter don’t mind!” That’s one statement out of Paula’s mouth I have to agree with. All things considered, I’d say Lil’s a shoe in for the bottom three as well.

It will be interesting to see who goes home this week. The competition is getting tight!  My guess is the bottom three will hold Kris Allen, Matt Giraud and Lil Rounds. It’s anybody’s guess from there who will go home! Keep in mind that the judges can still save someone if they so choose -  I wonder if they’ll be using that save this week.  Tune in tonight at 8pm to find out and see Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson perform!  And if you can’t, don’t worry – we’ll have your recap right here on ampradio.com! : )

Can’t get enough of Idol? Download these seven performances on ITunes here: